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The 10-billion-dollar man: Luo Lin

As Chairman and Founder of Anton Oilfield Services Group, Luo Lin has spent the Past 20 years building the first listed Chinese oilfield company.

The 10-billion-dollar man: Luo Lin

As Chairman and Founder of Anton Oilfield Services Group, Luo Lin has spent the Past 20 years building the first listed Chinese oilfield company.

Luo Lin

Chairman and Founder, Anton Oilfield Services Group

Words - Nikki Stefanoff

Images - Aurélien Foucault

Founded in Xinjiang’s Tarim Basin in 1999, Anton Oilfield Services Group (Anton) is now a global business with a presence in more than 20 countries and an overseas business that accounts for over 70% of revenue. With two big oilfield management services projects underway, in Iraq and Chad, it’s setting itself up for global dominance.

Anton is a business focusing not on finding resources but developing them. What that means is that its operations are centred around oil and gas after the resources have been discovered. “We look after geological engineering, oil well engineering, surface construction and oilfield management in the later stage, once oil and gas have been found,” Chairman and Founder Luo Lin explains.

“We also provide integrated technologies to help global businesses with poor ground conditions or old technologies. We step in and help them increase production capacity and reduce their costs so they can focus on maximising the value of their resources.”

“We also provide integrated technologies to help global businesses with poor ground conditions or old technologies.”

There’s no doubt that the oil and gas industry is changing and the rapid growth of newly emerging energy is bringing with it some challenges, but Luo’s not worried. “Anton is a relatively small company and the downturn of the industry won’t impact our business too significantly,” Luo says.

“To make sure the company continues to develop, it will focus on the global emerging markets and remain flexible so we can adjust the scope of the business to meet customer needs.”

The customer is at the core of everything Anton does and it’s the customer that inspires Luo and his team to find ways to continually innovate to help them succeed.

“As a company, we are here to assist businesses with their oil and gas development while continuing to support the exploration and development of resources. Saying that, we stick to our position as an oilfield services company and exist to provide a quality service to our customers,” Luo says. “I believe we create value for them by combining reservoir technology with engineering.”

Anton’s goal is to become a global leading integrated oilfield technical services company. With a speciality in Chinese resources, Chinese businesses are a valuable portion of the company, however, Luo is also looking to spread his wings and collaborate with suppliers in the West.

The company’s growth in China already makes it stand out within a competitive industry, but Luo thinks a big part of its success is down to its culture. “We have a competitive culture at Anton, of which the most valuable aspect is the hardworking spirit, which helps drive an innovative atmosphere. When I say hardworking spirit, what I mean is that my colleagues and I always stay productive even under harsh market conditions. The teams always strive for excellence and work through struggles to generate a high return,” he says.

“We have a competitive culture at Anton, of which the most valuable aspect is the hardworking spirit.”

“As the leader of these teams, I like to forge ahead, go deep into the frontline and lead them to work hard because this will help us reach our goal of becoming a global leading integrated technical services company. There’s a long way to go to achieve it, but when I look back to where we started, I can already see that we’ve made great progress and, with such an outstanding team of people beside me, I have no doubt that the business will continue to develop. Anton will become a great company under their support.”

The future for Anton is exciting and busy, as Luo has big plans for the business. “I have set US$10 billion in annual revenue as the overarching goal,” he says. “It sounds a lot, but if you consider that Anton will achieve an annual revenue of US$1 billion in the short run, I think that it’s time to consider how we can switch that number to US$10 billion. I’m not saying we must reach US$10 billion in the coming years, but with this long-term goal in mind, we can focus on developing Anton from a good company into a great one.”

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Inspiring The Business World

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The CEO Magazine is more than a business title; it’s a source of information, inspiration and motivation for the world’s most successful leaders, executives, investors and entrepreneurs. Our content creates conversations, our voice is the one that matters.